-->''[[KneelBeforeZod "Our knees do not bend so easily."]]''-->''[[LastStand "The Kingsguard does not flee."]]''-->''"Then or now."'' --> '''Ser Arthur Dayne & Ser Gerold Hightower''', ''A Game of Thrones''

%%The plan for this article is that the various MOA's throughout the series are organised by book. Please help if you can, work has been started but needs to be finished.

!!''The Winds of Winter''* Stannis [[spoiler:deducing that Arnolf Karstark is TheMole, getting him and his son arrested and bullying the Karhold men into fighting for him instead of House Bolton]].* Stannis' speech after being warned of the danger of Ramsay Bolton.-->'''Stannis''': "I defeated [[spoiler:your uncle]] Victarion and his Iron Fleet off Fair Isle, the first time [[spoiler:your father]] crowned himself. I held Storm's End against the power of the Reach for a year, and took Dragonstone from the Targaryens. I smashed [[spoiler:Mance Rayder at the Wall]], though he had twenty times my numbers. Tell me, [[spoiler:turncloak]], what battles has the Bastard of [[spoiler:Bolton]] ever won that I should fear him?* Arya [[spoiler: finally killing Raff the Sweetling so very long after having added him to her list, and just to make it sweeter she does so the same way Raff murdered Lommy in AClashOfKings and even makes him unknowingly echo Lommy's last plea for help.]]** A far more subtle one in the same chapter is that it reveals at the end that [[spoiler: Bran's greenseeing has progressed to the point where he can now see Arya all the way from Westeros.]]* The increasingly lopsided debacle that is the [[spoiler:Battle of Meereen]] in the Barristan Selmy and Tyrion chapters. [[spoiler:Ser Barristan and the Unsullied charging through the front gates, Ironborn laying waste to the slaver fleet, and the Windblown and Second Sons turning their cloaks amidst all of it. While the final result is unknown, and knowing this series a DiabolusExMachina could strike at any moment, watching the arrogant Yunkish army get taken apart right when they think their victory is certain is quite satisfying.]] * Sansa's [[spoiler: GuileHero and FilleFatale skills have definitely blossomed during her Alayne Stone charade. Harry the Heir rudely calls her a bastard, meaning that he's not thrilled about their match. But Sansa's having none of it. Five minutes of dance are enough to have this JerkJock completely seduced by said bastard's look and wits to the point that at the end of their dance he's asking [[TheLadysFavour her favour]] to wear at the tourney, which she refuses because knows that PlayingHardToGet is what would keep him interested.]]

!!''Backstory''* Jaime killing Aerys. At 17 doing the most unbelievable crime of all time. Killing a king, a king he was sworn to defend. And his [[ShootTheDog reasons]] make him a total [[TheWoobie woobie]] (at least initially).** True enough. To expand this; King Aerys II was losing the battle against Robert's Rebellion, was very close to watching King's Landing get sacked and his throne taken from him, [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll and was about to burn down King's Landing and everyone in it out of spite.]]]] Jaime [[EvenEvilHasStandards prevented this from happening]], killing Aerys before he could give the order. And he did this with a general idea of [[TheOathbreaker how people would see him]] for the rest of his life afterward, and not telling anybody [[WhatYouAreInTheDark the truth about what happened]].* One that happened offscreen - when he was a squire with Merrett Frey, Merrett used to bully the other squires. Then he tried to bully Jaime. [[NoodleIncident Guess what happened next...]]* In Jojen and Meera's story of the tourney at Harrenhal, [[RebelliousPrincess Lyanna Stark]] came across a group of squires beating a young Howland Reed. She roared [[PreAssKickingOneLiner "That's my father's man you're kicking!"]] and proceeded to beat the crap out of all the bullies with a tourney sword, scattering them. Keep in mind she was only a teenage girl at the time. [[ActionGirl It's easy to see why Arya is often compared to her aunt.]]** And that's only the start of Lyanna being awesome at the Harrenhal Tourney -- at least if you subscribe to the popular theory that she was the [[spoiler:Knight of the Laughing Tree.]]* Stannis holding Storm's End for a year under siege, coming to within weeks of starving to death whilst the Tyrells and the Redwynes feasted and wafted their foods' scents over the walls. Stannis did this while he was about seventeen, impressing Ned so much that he believed Stannis to be fearless.** Related to above, Davos manages to smuggles supply to besieged party through Redwyne-Tyrell blockade. As reward, [[RagsToRoyalty he gets promoted into knight]] [[spoiler:[[RagsToRoyalty and later nobleman]]]] by Stannis. The first sentence is CMOA, the second is this and CMOH.* Jon Arryn, knowing that King Aerys has summoned Ned and Robert to come to court in order to have them both murdered as well, refuses to turn over his young wards and instead raises his banners in revolt. Everyone should remember that it wasn't Ned or Robert who instigated the rebellion, it was Jon Arryn who risked everything to protect the two young men he helped raise.* Robert Baratheon and Rhaegar Targaryen meeting in single combat at the Trident. In an epic battle, Robert eventually managed to DropTheHammer on Rhaegar and basically win the Rebellion right there.* Ned Stark and his TrueCompanions versus the last members of the Kingsguard at the Tower of Joy. Some of the quotes are listed above. Of note, the Kingsguard are outnumbered 2:1 and still inflict heavy casualties, and Ned Stark managing to kill Arthur Dayne the greatest knight of his time. The last one applies to Howland Reed as well, since he saved Ned's life in the fight. Of course it ends in tragedy, but it was awesome.* Rhoynar, and later Dornish, had awesome stories from past.** Their last great ruler manages to stop the Valyrian aggression for few years. Valyrians wins because they ZergRush with Dragons against Rhoynars.** Whole tales of Nymeria and her fleet. Filled mostly with women, children, elderly and sick, they sailed long, perilous way from home to find new home. When they reached Dorne, then local petty lord Mors Martell recognized their strength and seek unity with them. Later the Nymeros- Martell unified Dorne and Rhoynish gets their happy ending.

!!''The Princess and the Queen'' short story* Nettle's EstablishingCharacterMoment. She tames a ''feral, adult dragon''. Everyone else who tried that did it by [[WhatAnIdiot marching into the dragon's lair]] and trying to ''force'' it to obey them. ([[SarcasmMode Spoiler alert]]: they either died ''horribly'' or got "lucky" and lived with tremendous scars.) But Nettle's [[GuileHero too smart for that]]. So she gets a butchered sheep and takes it to the dragon, every day, until it recognizes her and trusts her. That's it. Simple ''logic'' elevates this [[TwoferTokenMinority bastard peasant girl]] to a DragonRider and major player in the war.* Faced with the Queen's order condemning Nettles to death, the Lord of Maidenpool balks at violating SacredHospitality. His loyal maester solves the problem by tipping off Prince Daemon, then telling his lord to arrest him for treason. Instead of handing him over for execution, the lord declares they're both traitors and changes sides.* When King's Landing falls to the Blacks despite being attack from both sides by Goldcloaks and the Blacks army 13 Hightower knights and 100 men-at-arms manage to hold the river gate for 8 hours* The Caltrops killing the Two Betrayers - with Bold Jon Roxton walking alone up to Hugh Hammer and all his guards delivering a badass PreMortemOneLiner before cutting him damn near in half (even managing to kill three of Hugh's guards as well before he was overwhelmed by the rest. Ulf is killed by a TakingYouWithMe from Hobart Hightower involving poisoned wine.--> "History has little good to say about Ser Hobert Hightower, but no man can question the manner of his death. Rather than betray his fellow Caltrops, he let the squire fill his cup, drank deep, and asked for more."* The dragon battles are ''insanely'' intense. Special mentions go to [[BadassGrandma Princess Rhaenys]] and Meleys the Red Queen for taking on the entire royal army and two enemy dragon riders; [[HeroicBastard Addam Valeryon]] for fighting two riderless dragons to protect his men during the Second Battle of Tumbleton; and [[LittleMissBadass Princess Baela]] and her barely grown dragon for facing down Aegon II during the Fall of Dragonstone.* The Northerners kicked copious amounts of ass in every single battle they were in, often facing armies several times their size. Rodrik Dustin, leader of the Winter Wolves, got one of his arms hacked off during the Battle of Tumbleton but still managed to kill two more Hightower men before dying.** To be clear, he didn't just kill two Hightower {{Mooks}}. He killed ''Lord Hightower and his heir,'' two of Aegon's most capable commanders. Dustin's DyingMomentOfAwesome screwed with the Greens' war effort big time.* And how could we ever forget the Rogue Prince, [[ByronicHero Daemon Targaryen]]? Say what you will about the man: that he was tempestuous, selfish, reckless, a murderer ... but no one before or since has gone out like more of a Boss.

!!Unsorted below:* Daenerys Frakkin' Targaryen. Dany is like a Crowning Person of Awesome all on her own after about the midpoint of A Game of Thrones, but here are a few highlights:** First, when she [[spoiler: kills Mirri Maz Duur and hatches her dragon eggs, and WALKS INTO THE FIRE TO PULL THEM OUT and comes out unscathed (except for her hair)]]at the end of A Game of Thrones** Then, when she [[spoiler: burns down the House of the Undying AND outwits the Qaartheen to escape after leading her people through a desert death march mostly intact]] during A Clash Of Kings** Finally, she [[spoiler: turns her small group of Dothraki into a large group of warriors by freeing the Unsullied she just bought by ordering them to kill the men who owned them five minutes ago, then leading them on a rampage through the East, freeing slaves and leaving burning ruins of what had once been decadent, immoral, evil cities in her wake]] during A Storm of Swords. Put simply, she is the most badass fourteen-year-old in, well, EVER.*** Not to mention the event that kicks all this off -- Dany ordering her dragons to [[spoiler: roast the repellant slave trader]] who's been [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain calling her "whore" and "slut" every chance he gets]]. ''So'' satisfying.*** And this is after she shredded half his face off with the whip he just gave her.*** Of course, this being a WorldHalfEmpty, after Daenerys accomplishes the events described above, it falls apart. But instead of pulling a KarmaHoudini—or letting the author throw one on her behalf—she decides to stay and learn from her mistakes. For a girl of sixteen, that's another Moment of Awesome right there.** [[spoiler:Drogon]] in ''A Dance with Dragons''. If you've gotten to the scene, no further explanation will be necessary.* No love for Sansa? In book one after realising what Joffrey really is she almost pulls a TakingYouWithMe and is only stopped by the Hound. Book two she saves Ser Dontos life which allows for her eventual escape from Kings Landing. And in book four she's showing real signs of MagnificentBastard potential.** Her defiant refusal to kneel at her forced wedding to Tyrion was a brave bit of resistance in a scenario where she had virtually no capacity to refuse her captors anything.* The backstory featured a confrontation between Aegon the Conqueror's sister-wife Rhaenys and the Ruling Princess of Dorne, [[http://thewertzone.blogspot.in/2012/09/the-full-story-of-targaryen-conquest-in.html?spref=tw&m=1%7CThe Mariya "The Yellow Toad" Martell]]. The Dornish had used guerilla tactics to destroy the invading Targaryen armies little piece by little piece, at the same time denying them a target for their dragons. When Rhaenys got fed up and flew straight to the Dornish capital the following (paraphrased) exchange took place:-->'''Mariya''': ''This is Dorne. You are not wanted here, return at your peril. '' -->''' Rhaenys''': ''I will return! With '''Fire and Blood'''!''-->'''Mariya''': ''[[ShutUpHannibal Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken]]''.** Made even more awesome by the fact that Mariya was an 80 year old woman, nearly blind, and she still dared to spurn a ''freaking dragon rider'' who had burned an army to cinders a few days back. The Dornish (even women) must have balls of Valyrian steel!*** [[spoiler: From the released excerpts of The World of Ice & Fire, it seems that the Dornish people of that time were insanely badass '''and''' utterly merciless foes. Entire Targaryen hosts were wiped out without a trace, captured knights were tortured as a pastime, Orys Baratheon (founder of House Baratheon & most trusted general of Aegon the Dragon) was captured and held as hostage with all his men for years and finally released with every man missing a hand, Dornish forces burned & rampaged all throughout the Stormlands & the Reach & last but not the least, Meraxes & her rider were both killed.]] * From "The Hedge Knight", ''many'' moments relating to Dunk's Trial of Seven:** The smallfolk all being on Dunk's side even though his opponents include [[spoiler:three princes of the blood and three members of the Kingsguard]] because he was "a knight who remembered his vows".** [[spoiler:Baelor Breakspear himself, Hand of the King and heir to the Iron Throne,]] volunteering to be Dunk's final champion, even though it means going against [[spoiler:his own brother and two of his nephews]].** Ser Humphrey Hardyng fighting at Dunk's side even though he already had a broken leg from his earlier clash with Aerion.** Raymun Fossoway being knighted on the spot to take Dunk's cause [[spoiler:after his treacherous cousin Steffon betrays Dunk to fight for the other side]]. During the battle he [[spoiler:gave his cousin a few bruises to remember and afterwards went on to found the cadet branch of House Fossoway based on his repainted "green apple" banner which would grow to become the equals of the main "red apple" branch]].** Dunk beating [[spoiler:Prince Aerion Targaryen]] and forcing him to recant his accusation, winning the trial, by [[TheCombatPragmatist dragging him down into the mud and beating the stuffing out of him]], largely using [[ShieldBash his opponent's own shield against him]]. "He could vanquish Ser Duncan the Tall, but not Dunk of Flea Bottom."** Finally, his acceptance of Prince Maekar's offer to let him take his son Aegon as his squire- on the condition that the two of them roam the country living the low life a simple hedge knight and his common squire. When Maekar incredulously reminds Dunk that Egg is a prince of the blood, Dunk points out to the prince [[spoiler:and now heir to the throne]] that neither of his other two sons ever learned humility or decency, so maybe it's time to try things a different way. Maekar doesn't answer, but Dunk gets his way. (And if you know about the history of the series, you know Aegon V grows up to be a fair, honourable and beloved ruler, so Dunk ''knew'' what he was talking about.)* There are several great moments for Dunk in "The Mystery Knight," but chief among them?** "I'm better with a sword" Dunk wasn't lying** "You lie. That's two."* King Baelor I rescuing [[BadassInDistress Aegon the Dragonknight]] from a pit of vipers. That's some serious HeroicWillpower right there.----